Ban on cigarettes, tobacco products without tax stamps goes into effect

The General Tax Authority (GTA) has announced that the ban on the sale of cigarettes and other tobacco products without valid and activated Digital Tax Stamps will go into effect today, February 1, 2023. 

It will be recalled that the ban on the sale or circulation of cigarettes anywhere in Qatar without a digital tax stamp went into effect on January 11, 2023.

In October 2022, the General Tax Authority launched the Digital Tax Stamp System on imports of cigarettes and other tobacco products and their derivatives into the country.

The General Tax Authority's earlier statement also announced that, starting from July 11th and August 4th, importers of cigarettes and other tobacco products (respectively) registered for excise tax were also able to request digital tax stamps for purchase electronically on the digital tax stamp system, which would then be placed on the imported cigarettes.